Multi-passenger ride vehicle

ABSTRACT

A control system to control a multi-passenger ride vehicle includes a controller. The controller receives a first user feedback from a first user input device and a second user feedback from a second user input device. The controller selects the first user feedback, the second user feedback, or a combination thereof for a determination of a vehicle path of the multi-passenger ride vehicle. The controller determines the vehicle path using the first user feedback, the second user feedback, or the combination thereof based on the selection. The controller controls movement of the multi-passenger ride vehicle based on the vehicle path.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/970,132 entitled “MULTI-PASSENGER RIDE VEHICLE,” filed Dec. 15, 2015,which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for allintents and purposes.

FIELD OF DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates generally to the field of amusementparks. More specifically, embodiments of the present disclosure relateto multi-passenger ride vehicles used in conjunction with amusement parkgames or rides.

BACKGROUND

Various amusement rides have been created to provide passengers withunique motion and visual experiences. For example, theme rides can beimplemented with single-passenger or multi-passenger ride vehicles thattravel along a fixed or variable path. Ride vehicles themselves mayinclude features providing passengers with varying levels of control(e.g., various buttons and knobs) over the ride vehicle and/orsurrounding environment. However, traditional controls given topassengers of a ride vehicle are generally limited when the ride vehiclefollows a pre-determined, fixed path. Further, traditional controls ofmulti-passenger ride vehicles generally only provide a single passengerwith steering control over the ride vehicle. Accordingly, it is nowrecognized that there is a need for an improved amusement ride thatprovides enhanced passenger control over the ride vehicle to create amore adventurous ride experience.

SUMMARY

Certain embodiments commensurate in scope with the originally claimedsubject matter are summarized below. These embodiments are not intendedto limit the scope of the disclosure, but rather these embodiments areintended only to provide a brief summary of certain disclosedembodiments. Indeed, the present disclosure may encompass a variety offorms that may be similar to or different from the embodiments set forthbelow.

In accordance with one embodiment, a system includes a multi-passengerride vehicle configured to accommodate two or more passengers. Themulti-passenger ride vehicle includes a plurality of user input deviceseach configured to receive input from a passenger of the two or morepassengers and to generate feedback in response to input from therespective passenger. The plurality of user input devices includes afirst user input device configured to generate first feedback and asecond user input device configured to generate second feedback. Thefirst and second feedback include a first feedback type associated witha first operation of the multi-passenger ride vehicle. Additionally, theplurality of user input devices includes a third user input deviceconfigured to generate third feedback and a fourth user input deviceconfigured to generate fourth feedback. The third and fourth feedbackinclude a second feedback type associated with a second operation of themulti-passenger ride vehicle different from the first operation.Further, the system includes a controller configured to receive thefirst, second, third, and fourth feedback, to control the firstoperation of the multi-passenger ride vehicle based on a first selectionof the first feedback, the second feedback, or both, and to control thesecond operation of the multi-passenger ride vehicle based on a secondselection of the third feedback, the fourth feedback, or both.

In another embodiment, a multi-passenger ride vehicle includes a firstuser input device configured to generate first feedback based on inputfrom a first passenger of the multi-passenger ride vehicle. Themulti-passenger ride vehicle also includes a second user input deviceconfigured to generate second feedback based on input from a secondpassenger of the multi-passenger ride vehicle. Further, themulti-passenger ride vehicle includes a controller configured to receivethe first and second feedback and to select the first feedback, thesecond feedback, or both for a determination of a vehicle path.Additionally, the controller is configured to determine the vehicle pathusing the first feedback, the second feedback, or both based on theselection and to control movement of the multi-passenger ride vehiclebased on the vehicle path.

In another embodiment, a method includes receiving first steeringfeedback from a first user input device of a multi-passenger ridevehicle in response to input from a first passenger of themulti-passenger ride vehicle. The method also includes receiving firstspeed feedback from a second user input device of the multi-passengerride vehicle in response to input from a second passenger of themulti-passenger ride vehicle. Additionally, the method includesdetermining a vehicle path. Determining the vehicle path includesdetermining a direction of the vehicle path based on the first steeringfeedback and determining a speed of the vehicle path based on the secondsteering feedback. Further, the method includes controlling movement ofmulti-passenger ride vehicle based on the vehicle path.

DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the presentdisclosure will become better understood when the following detaileddescription is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in whichlike characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an overhead view of an interactive ride system including amulti-passenger ride vehicle in accordance with present techniques;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an interactive ride system including amulti-passenger ride vehicle in accordance with present techniques;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an interactive ride system including amulti-passenger ride vehicle, a physical reward, a virtual reward, aphysical obstacle, and a virtual obstacle in accordance with presenttechniques;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an interactive ride system including twomulti-passenger ride vehicles in accordance with present techniques;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an interactive ride system including twomulti-passenger ride vehicles and a virtual obstacle displayed by amoveable projector in accordance with present techniques;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a representation of a virtual obstacledisplayed on a heads-up display of a multi-passenger ride vehicle inaccordance with present techniques;

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of a method for determining passengerperformance in accordance with present techniques;

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of a method for determining a winner of aninteractive ride in accordance with the present techniques; and

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of a method for controlling one or moreoperations of a multi-passenger ride vehicle based on feedback from oneor more user input devices in accordance with the present techniques.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure is directed to an interactive ride that includesa multi-passenger ride vehicle having various user input devices thatenable cooperative, competitive, or sequential/alternating passengercontrol of the multi-passenger ride vehicle to provide a dynamic rideexperience for each passenger. The interactive ride is in contrast topassive rides that provide a static experience for each passenger. Forexample, a passive ride does not include variable routes or outcomesbased on inputs each time the ride is taken and/or does not permitdynamic passenger control of features of the ride vehicle. The presenttechniques facilitate a potentially different experience for eachmulti-passenger ride vehicle and/or each passenger each time the ride istaken. In particular, each passenger of the multi-passenger ride vehiclemay actively control at least one feature or operation of themulti-passenger ride vehicle for at least a portion of the interactiveride. For example, one or more passengers of the multi-passenger ridevehicle may actively control various user input devices of themulti-passenger ride vehicle, such as steering wheels, joysticks, gaspedals, brake pedals, buttons, levers, switches, touch-screen displays,and the like. The user input devices may generate feedback relating tomovement of the multi-passenger ride vehicle (e.g., speed, acceleration,deceleration, direction, and/or orientation), feedback relating torewards in the interactive ride, feedback relating to obstacles in theinteractive ride, feedback relating to other multi-passenger ridevehicles or other objects in the interactive ride, or a combinationthereof based on input from the one or more passengers. The feedbackgenerated by the user input devices may be used to control features oroperations of the multi-passenger ride vehicle such as movement of themulti-passenger ride vehicle, obtaining rewards, avoiding obstacles,and/or engaging with other multi-passenger ride vehicles and/or objectsin the interactive ride.

In certain embodiments, two or more passengers of the multi-person ridevehicle may actively control the same operation at the same time forcooperative control of the operation. That is, two passengers may eachcontrol a user input device that generates the same type of feedback(e.g., feedback relating to the same operation), and feedback from thetwo user input devices may be used to cooperatively control theoperation. For example, two passengers may each control a steeringwheel, and a cooperative aggregate from the control of the two steeringwheels may determine the steering or vehicle path of the multi-passengervehicle. In some embodiments, each passenger of the multi-passenger ridevehicle may actively control a different operation of themulti-passenger ride vehicle. For example, a first passenger may controla user input device that generates feedback relating to steering, asecond passenger may control a user input device that generates feedbackrelating to acceleration, a third passenger may control a user inputdevice that generates feedback relating to rewards, and a fourthpassenger may control a user input device that generates feedbackrelating to obstacles. Further, in some embodiments, control of variousoperations of the multi-passenger ride vehicle may rotate betweenpassengers throughout the duration of the interactive ride. For example,control of various operations of the multi-passenger ride vehicle maycycle between the passengers and/or may be given to passengers based onprevious passenger performance for the respective operation. In thismanner, the interactive ride enables each passenger of themulti-passenger ride vehicle control of at least one operation of themulti-passenger ride vehicle to provide each passenger with a unique,dynamic ride experience and to provide continued interest over severalpark visits.

The disclosed interactive ride may be implemented with amusement parkattractions including rides, shows, promotions, and so forth. Byemploying the interactive ride in conjunction with particular themes,such as various racing themes, guests are incentivized to visit theamusement park and are further enabled to enjoy the thematic experienceprovided by the amusement park. Further, because the interactive ride isconfigurable and dynamic, one ride environment may be configured to hostrides, races and/or games having a number of different themes ornarratives.

With the foregoing in mind, FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of aninteractive ride system 10 in accordance with the present disclosure.The interactive ride system 10 may include one or more multi-passengerride vehicles 12. In particular, each multi-passenger ride vehicle 12includes at least two passenger seats 14 (e.g., 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,10, or more) to enable each multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 toaccommodate at least two passengers 16. The passenger seats 14 may bedisposed in any suitable location of the multi-passenger ride vehicle12, such as in the front and/or back of the multi-passenger ride vehicle12. Further, each passenger seat 14 may be oriented in any direction inthe multi-passenger ride vehicle 12. Additionally, in some embodiments,one or more of the passenger seats 14 may be elevated with respect tothe remaining passenger seats 14. Each multi-passenger ride vehicle 12may also include front wheels 18 connected to a front axle 20 and rearwheels 22 connected to a rear axle 24.

The interactive ride system 10 includes a ride environment 28 for theone or more multi-passenger ride vehicles 12. In particular, the one ormore multi-passenger ride vehicles 12 are positioned within andconfigured to move in the ride environment 28. In certain embodiments,the one or more multi-passenger ride vehicles 12 travel along a ridecourse 30 within the ride environment 28. The ride course 30 may be anysurface on which the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 travels. Forexample, the ride course 30 may include one or more tracks, one or moreroads, one or more open surfaces, or a combination thereof. In oneembodiment, the interactive ride system 10 is a “drive-by-wire” systemin which a controller (e.g., one or more controllers) controls themovement (e.g., direction, speed, acceleration, and/or orientation) ofthe multi-passenger ride vehicles 12. As such, the ride course 30 maynot dictate the path traveled by the multi-passenger ride vehicles 12.Instead, one or more controllers may determine a plurality of differentor variable ride paths 32 of the multi-passenger ride vehicles 12 withinthe ride course 30. In some embodiments, one or more controllers mayenable free motion of the multi-passenger vehicles 12 (e.g., themulti-passenger ride vehicles 12 may drive anywhere or anywhere within apredetermined boundary). In certain embodiments, one or more controllersmay enable movement through branching fixed paths. For example, one ormore controllers may select the variable ride path 32 from a pluralityof branching fixed paths. Further, in some embodiments, one or morecontrollers may control the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 to cause themulti-passenger ride vehicle 12 to travel with variable speed, variabledirection (e.g., forward, backward, sideways, diagonally, etc.), and/orvariable orientation. For example, the one or more controllers may causethe multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 to spin, pitch, roll, and/or yaw tochange the orientation of the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12. As such,the interactive ride system 10 facilitates a potentially different ridepath 32 for each multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 each time the ride istaken.

Further, as will be described in more detail below, the passengers 16 ineach multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 may control one or more operations(e.g., actions, functions, etc.) of the respective multi-passenger ridevehicle 12, such as movement of the respective multi-passenger ridevehicle 12, obtaining rewards, avoiding obstacles, and/or engaging withother multi-passenger ride vehicles 12 in the interactive ride system10. For example, the passengers 16 in each multi-passenger ride vehicle12 may cooperatively or individually control the movement (e.g.,direction, speed, and/or orientation) of the respective multi-passengerride vehicle 12 to control the ride path 32 taken by the respectivemulti-passenger ride vehicle 12. For example, in some embodiments, thepassengers 16 in a multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 may cooperatively orindividually control free motion of the respective multi-passenger ridevehicle 12. In certain embodiments, the passengers 16 in amulti-passenger ride vehicle 12 may cooperatively or individuallycontrol the selection of a fixed ride path 32 from a plurality ofbranching fixed paths. To enable the passengers 16 to control operationof each multi-passenger ride vehicle 12, each multi-passenger ridevehicle 12 may include at least one user input device 34 for eachpassenger 16. Each user input device 34 generates feedback or signals inresponse to input from a passenger 16. For example, each user inputdevice 34 may generate feedback or signals in response to actuation ormovement of the respective user input device 34 by a passenger 16. Insome embodiments, the user input devices 34 may generate feedbackrelating to movement of the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12, feedbackrelating to rewards, feedback relating to obstacles, or a combinationthereof. As illustrated, each user input device 34 may be disposedproximate to a passenger seat 14 such that the passenger 16 in therespective passenger seat 14 may easily interact with and/or actuate therespective user input device 34. For example, each user input device 34for each passenger seat 14 may be positioned about the respectivepassenger seat 14 such that each user input device 34 is within arm'sreach of the passenger 16 in the respective passenger seat 14. In someembodiments, each user input device 34 may be disposed proximate to apassenger seat 14 such that the user input devices 34 are disposedproximate to (e.g., within arm's reach of) a passenger 16 in therespective passenger seat 14 and a distance away from (e.g., out ofarm's reach of) passengers 16 in the other passenger seats 14 of themulti-passenger ride vehicle 12.

In the illustrated embodiment, the at least one user input device 34includes a steering wheel 36, a gas pedal 38, a brake pedal 40, one ormore buttons 42, and a joystick 44 (e.g., to move sideways and/ordiagonally or to control movement in all directions), a touch-screendisplay (not shown). However, it should be appreciated that in someembodiments, the at least one user input device 34 may include anynumber of user input devices and any suitable types of user inputdevices, such as a throttle, a hand brake, etc. Further, it should beappreciated that the at least one user input device 34 for a passenger16 generates the same type of feedback or a different type of feedbackas another user input device 34 for another passenger 16. By way ofexample, in one embodiment, the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 mayinclude the steering wheel 36 proximate to a first passenger seat, thegas pedal 38 proximate to a second passenger seat, the brake pedal 40proximate to a third passenger seat, and the buttons 42 proximate to afourth passenger seat.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, each multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 mayinclude a vehicle controller 70 (e.g., a single controller or multiplecontrollers in cooperation) that receives signals (e.g., inputs,feedback, etc.) from the user input devices 34 and processes thereceived signals to control operation of the respective multi-passengerride vehicle 12. For example, the vehicle controller 70 may processsignals from the user input devices 34 to control operations of themulti-passenger ride vehicle 12 such as movement of the multi-passengerride vehicle 12, obtaining rewards, avoiding obstacles, and/or engagingwith other multi-passenger ride vehicles 12 and/or characters in theinteractive ride system 10. In particular, the vehicle controller 70 maydetermine the path 32 of each multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 based atleast in part on one or more signals from the user input devices 34. Asnoted above, the path 32 may be free motion of the multi-passenger ridevehicle 12 or a selected fixed path from a plurality of branching fixedpaths. It should be appreciated that in embodiments in which the path 32is a selected fixed path, the vehicle controller 30 may change the path32 (e.g., select a different fixed path 32) based on one or more signalsfrom the user input devices 34. For example, the vehicle controller 30may select a first fixed path 32 (e.g., at a first branch in the ridecourse 30) based on one or more signals from one or more user inputdevices 34, and the vehicle controller 30 may select a second fixed path32 (e.g., at a second branch in the ride course 30) based on one or moresignals form one or more user input devices 34. As will be described inmore detail below, the vehicle controller 70 may control operation ofthe multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 based on inputs from the user inputdevices 34, instructions stored in the vehicle controller 70, and/orinstructions from a system controller 72 (e.g., a single controller ormultiple controllers in cooperation) of the interactive ride system 10that is communicatively coupled to the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12.

The vehicle controller 70 may be any device employing a processor 74(which may represent one or more processors), such as anapplication-specific processor. The vehicle controller 70 may alsoinclude a memory device 76 for storing instructions executable by theprocessor 74 to perform the methods and control actions described hereinfor the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12. The processor 74 may includeone or more processing devices, and the memory 76 may include one ormore tangible, non-transitory, machine-readable media. Further, thesystem controller 72 may be any device employing a processor 78 (whichmay represent one or more processors), such as an application-specificprocessor. The system controller 72 may also include a memory device 80for storing instructions executable by the processor 78 to perform themethods and control actions described herein for the multi-passengerride vehicle 12 and the interactive ride system 10. The processor 78 mayinclude one or more processing devices, and the memory 80 may includeone or more tangible, non-transitory, machine-readable media. By way ofexample, such machine-readable media can include RAM, ROM, EPROM,EEPROM, CD-ROM, or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage orother magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used tocarry or store desired program code in the form of machine-executableinstructions or data structures and which can be accessed by theprocessor 74, the processor 78, or by any general purpose or specialpurpose computer or other machine with a processor.

In addition, the system controller 72 may be configured to communicateover wired or wireless communication paths with the multi-passenger ridevehicles 12 and any other components of the interactive ride system 12.For example, the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 may include a vehiclecommunication module 82, and the system controller 72 may include asystem communication module 84 to facilitate transmission of informationbetween the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 and the system controller72. In certain embodiments, the vehicle communication module 82 may alsofacilitate transmission of information with other multi-passenger ridevehicles 12. Additionally, the system controller 72 may include adistributed control system (DCS) or any computer-based workstationincluding a display 86 and an input/output interface 88 that is fully orpartially automated.

To provide movements of the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12, themulti-passenger ride vehicle 12 includes a motor 90 and a brake 92. Themovements of the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 may include running(e.g., acceleration, deceleration), turning, and stopping of themulti-passenger ride vehicle 12. The motor 90 may be powered by anysuitable power source 94, including, but not limited to, a battery, asolar panel, an electrical generator, a gas engine, or any combinationthereof. The operations of the motor 90 and the brake 92 may becontrolled by the vehicle controller 70. For example, the vehiclecontroller 70 may control the motor 90 to adjust its output power toaccelerate or decelerate the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 based onfeedback received from one or more user input devices 34, such as one ormore gas pedals 38 or throttles. The vehicle controller 70 may alsocontrol the brake 92 to decelerate or stop the multi-passenger ridevehicle 12 based on feedback received from one or more user inputdevices 34, such as one or more brake pedals 40 or hand pedals. Further,the vehicle controller 70 may adjust a position of the front axle 20and/or the back axle 24 of the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 based onfeedback received from one or more user input devices 34, such as one ormore steering wheels 36 and/or one or more joysticks 44, to control thesteering of the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12. In this manner, thevehicle controller 70 may determine and/or adjust the path 32 of themulti-passenger ride vehicle 12 based on feedback from one or more userinput devices 34.

In some embodiments, the vehicle controller 70 may control the motor 90to cause the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 to maintain a speed above aminimum speed threshold. That is, the vehicle controller 70 may overrideinputs from the user input devices 34, such as inputs from the gaspedals 38 and/or inputs from the brake pedals 40, to cause themulti-passenger ride vehicle 12 to travel at a speed above the minimumspeed threshold. For example, in some embodiments, it may be desirablefor the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 to complete the ride within apredetermined time, and the minimum speed threshold may be selected tofacilitate completion of the ride within the predetermined time.Further, in certain embodiments, multiple multi-passenger ride vehicles12 may travel through the ride course 30 at the same time. It may bedesirable to space out the multi-passenger ride vehicles 12 along theride course 30, for example to minimize the occurrence of or to preventcollisions between the multi-passenger ride vehicles 12. Accordingly, incertain embodiments, the multi-passenger ride vehicles 12 may begin theride course 30 at predetermined intervals, and the minimum speedthreshold may be selected to facilitate a desired spacing between themulti-passenger ride vehicles 12 throughout the ride course 30. Thememory 76 of the vehicle controller 70 and/or the memory 80 of thesystem controller 72 may store one or more minimum speed thresholds. Insome embodiments, the processor 74 of the vehicle controller 70 and/orthe processor 78 of the system controller 72 may select a minimum speedthreshold from the one or more minimum speed thresholds stored in thememory 76 and/or the memory 80 based on one or more factors of the ride,such as a desired completion time, a desired spacing betweenmulti-passenger ride vehicles 12, etc.

The multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 may include a position feedbacksystem 96 for monitoring its position in the ride course 30. In someembodiments, the position feedback system 96 may include one or moresensors 98 that interact with one or more sensors 100 in the rideenvironment 28. For example, the sensors 98 and the sensors 100 mayinclude optical components, such as emitters and/or detectors,radio-frequency identification (RFID) components, such as RFID tagsand/or RFID transmitters, cameras, or any combination thereof. Thesensors 100 may be disposed in or on the ride course 30 and/or disposedin or on one or more physical objects in the ride environment 28.Additionally, the sensors 98 may be disposed in or on or coupled to themulti-passenger ride vehicle 12. In some embodiments, the sensors 98 ofthe position feedback system 96 may determine position information ofthe multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 based on feedback from orinteraction with the sensors 100 of the ride environment 28. The sensors98 may determine position information of the multi-passenger ridevehicle 12 based on feedback from or interaction with the sensors 98 ofthe multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 and may provide the positioninformation to the system controller 72.

The vehicle controller 72 and/or the system controller 72 may use theposition information of the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 incombination with information about the ride environment 28 to controlthe movement of the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 to minimize theoccurrence of, avoid, or prevent collisions. For example, theinformation about the ride environment 28 may include informationassociated with boundaries of the ride course 30, physical objectswithin the ride environment 28, other multi-passenger ride vehicles 12in the ride course 30, etc. The information about the ride environment28 may be determined by the vehicle controller 70 and/or the systemcontroller 72 based on feedback received from the one or more sensors98, based on feedback from the one or more sensors 100, based oninformation stored in the memory 76 and/or the memory 80, or acombination thereof. In particular, the vehicle controller 70 and/or thesystem controller 72 may be configured to override or adjust one or moreinputs from the user input devices 34 based at least in part on theposition information of the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 andinformation about the ride environment 28. For example, the vehiclecontroller 70 and/or the system controller 72 may override or adjustinputs from the steering wheels 36, the gas pedals 38, the brake pedals40, joysticks 44, etc. In some embodiments, the vehicle controller 70and/or the system controller 72 may also use data indicative of thestatus of the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 such as velocity, motoroutput power, inputs from the user input devices 34, etc. In oneembodiment, the vehicle communication module 82 may transmit the dataindicative of the status of the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 and aunique identifier associated with the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 tothe system controller 72.

In certain embodiments, the vehicle controller 70 and/or the systemcontroller 72 may determine that a multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 iswithin a predetermined distance of an object in the ride environment 28based at least in part on the position information of themulti-passenger ride vehicle 12 and information about the rideenvironment 28. In such embodiments, the vehicle controller 70 and/orthe system controller 72 may override or adjust one or more inputs fromthe user input devices 34 to adjust the movement of the multi-passengerride vehicle 12 to maintain or increase the distance between the objectand the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12. In some embodiments, thevehicle controller 70 and/or the system controller 72 may determinewhether the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 is likely to collide with anobject in the ride environment 28 based on the position information ofthe multi-passenger ride vehicle 12, information about the rideenvironment 28, and one or more inputs from the user input devices 34.In such embodiments, the vehicle controller 70 and/or the systemcontroller 72 may override or adjust one or more inputs from the userinput devices 34 to adjust the movement of the multi-passenger ridevehicle 12 to maintain or increase the distance between the object andthe multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 if the vehicle controller 70 and/orthe system controller 72 determines that the multi-passenger ridevehicle 12 will likely collide with the object.

Further, in some embodiments, the vehicle controller 70 and/or thesystem controller 72 may determine that the multi-passenger ride vehicle12 is entering a challenging section of the ride course 30, such as anarrow section, a curved section, a section with physical obstacles(e.g., speed bumps, cones, signs, potholes, or any other objects), or asection with other multi-passenger ride vehicles 12. The vehiclecontroller 70 and/or the system controller 72 may override or adjust oneor more inputs from the user input devices 34 to adjust the movement(e.g., decrease the speed) of the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 whenthe vehicle controller 70 and/or the system controller 72 may determinesthat the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 is entering a challengingsection of the ride course 30. In this manner, the vehicle controller 70and/or the system controller 72 may minimize the occurrence of, avoid,or prevent collisions between the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 andobjects within the ride environment 28.

The vehicle controller 70 may also selectively activate and deactivateone of more of the user input devices 34 to control which user inputdevices 34 provide feedback or signals to the vehicle controller 70 tocontrol one or more operations of the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12(e.g., during certain portions of the ride course 30). As used herein,feedback from activated user input devices 34 is used by the vehiclecontroller 70 to control one or more operations of the multi-passengerride vehicle 12, and feedback from deactivated user input devices 34 isnot used by the vehicle controller 70 to control one or more operationsof the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12. In this manner, the vehiclecontroller 70 may control which passengers 16 control which operationsof the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12. For example, in someembodiments, each user input device 34 may be coupled to a switch (notshown), and feedback from each user input device 34 may be provided tothe vehicle controller 70 when the respective switch is closed and maynot be provided to the vehicle controller 70 when the respective switchis open. Accordingly, the vehicle controller 70 may open the switch todeactivate the user input device 34 and may close the switch to activatethe user input device 34.

In some embodiments, the vehicle controller 70 may activate ordeactivate one or more user input devices 34 based on feedback fromother user input devices 34. In some embodiments, the vehicle controller70 may be configured to activate or deactivate one or more user inputdevices 34 that provide driving-related feedback (e.g., steeringfeedback, speed feedback, etc.) based on feedback from user inputdevices 34 that provide non-driving related feedback. For example, inone embodiment, the vehicle controller 70 may activate or deactivate thesteering wheel 36, the gas pedal 38, the brake pedal 40, the one or morebuttons 42, and/or the joystick 44 for one or more passengers 16 basedon feedback from the buttons 42 of another passenger 16.

In some embodiments, the user input devices 34 may still be functionalwhile deactivated. That is, deactivated user input devices 34 may beactuated by the passengers 16 and may provide feedback to the vehiclecontroller 70. However, in some embodiments, the vehicle controller 70may still process the feedback from the deactivated user input devices34 to determine passenger performance in controlling the respective userinput devices 34. In certain embodiments, each user input device 34 mayinclude a memory 102, which may store information relating to whichpassenger seat 14 the respective user input device 34 is disposedproximate to and/or information relating to which passenger 16 controlsthe respective user input device 34. For example, in one embodiment, thememory 102 may store a unique identifier that identifies the passengerseat 14 and/or the passenger 16 with which the respective user inputdevice 34 is associated. Further, in some embodiments, the memory 102may store information relating to the type of the user input device 34(e.g., steering wheel, joystick, brake pedal, gas pedal, button, rewardbutton, obstacle button, etc.) and/or the type or types of feedbackgenerated by the user input device 34 (e.g., steering feedback, speedfeedback, acceleration feedback, deceleration feedback, reward feedback,obstacle feedback, etc.). For example, in some embodiments, themulti-passenger ride vehicle 12 may include two buttons 42, and a firstbutton of the two buttons 42 may provide feedback relating to rewardsand a second button of the two buttons 42 may provide feedback relatingto obstacles. Accordingly, in certain embodiments, the vehiclecontroller 70 may use information stored in the memory 102 of each userinput device 34 to determine the passenger seat 14 associated with theuser input device 34, the passenger 16 associated with the user inputdevice 34, the type of user input device 34, and/or the type or types offeedback generated by the user input device 34 to selectively activatethe user input devices 34. By way of example, the vehicle controller 70may select a passenger 16 in a particular passenger seat 14 for controlof obtaining rewards and may selectively activate a button 42 that isconfigured to provide reward feedback and is disposed proximate to theparticular passenger seat 14.

Additionally, in some embodiments, the vehicle controller 70 may beconfigured to provide indications to the passengers 16 that may informthe passengers 16 of which user input devices 34 are activated. Forexample, in some embodiments, the user input devices 34 may include oneor more indicators (not shown), and the vehicle controller 70 mayselectively activate indicators of the activated user input devices 34.For example, the indicators may be lights (e.g., indicator lights,emitters), displays (e.g., displays that display graphics or textindicative of the activated user input devices 34), audio annunciators(e.g., speakers), and/or any other suitable indicator device. In thismanner, the indicators may provide an indication to the passengers 16regarding the activated user input devices 34.

In some embodiments, two or more of the passengers 16 may have the sametype of user input devices 34 or may have user input devices 34 thatprovide the same type of feedback, such as feedback related to movement,feedback related to steering, feedback related to speed and/oracceleration, feedback related to awards, feedback related to obstacles,and so forth. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the multi-passengerride vehicle 12 may provide the steering wheel 36, the gas pedal 38, thebrake pedal 40, the one or more buttons 42, and the joystick 44 for eachpassenger 16. In some embodiments, the vehicle controller 70 may onlyuse feedback from one type of user input device 34 or one type offeedback at a time to control operations of the multi-passenger ridevehicle 12. For example, the vehicle controller 70 may selectivelyactivate the steering wheel 36 proximate to a first passenger seat 14,the gas pedal 38 and the brake pedal 40 proximate to a second passengerseat 14, a first button 42 proximate to a third passenger seat 14, and asecond button 44 proximate to a fourth passenger seat 14. It may bedesirable to activate at least one user input device 34 for eachpassenger seat 14 to provide a dynamic and interactive experience foreach passenger 16.

The vehicle controller 70 may also vary which user input devices 34 areactivated throughout the ride. For example, after a predetermined time,after a predetermined distance traveled by the multi-passenger ridevehicle 12, or at a predetermined location in the ride course 30, thevehicle controller 70 may change which user input devices 34 areactivated. The vehicle controller 70 may selectively activate differentuser input devices 34 based on a predetermined schedule (e.g., list orhierarchy), which may be stored in the memory 76, or based on previouspassenger performance, which will be described in more detail below. Itshould be noted this embodiment is merely one possible option, and thevehicle controller 70 may activate the user input devices 34 in anydesired combination, in any desired order, and for any desired length oftime.

Additionally, in some embodiments, the vehicle controller 70 may use twoor more inputs that include the same type feedback or are from the sametype of user input device 34 to control operations of themulti-passenger ride vehicle 12. That is, the vehicle controller 70 mayselectively activate two or more user input devices 34 of the same typeor two or more user input devices 34 that provide the same type offeedback at the same time. For example, the vehicle controller 70 mayselectively activate the steering wheel 36 proximate to a firstpassenger seat 14 and the steering wheel 36 proximate to a secondpassenger seat 14, and the vehicle controller 70 may combine (e.g.,average, apply a weighted average, add, etc.) the feedback from the twoactivated steering wheels 36 into an aggregate signal to control thesteering of the multi-passenger ride vehicle. Again, it should be notedthis embodiment is merely one possible option, and the vehiclecontroller 70 may selectively activate the user input devices 34 in anydesired combination, in any desired order, and for any desired length oftime and may combine feedback from activated user input devices 34 inany desired manner. For example, in some embodiments, the vehiclecontroller 70 may weight the feedback based on prior passengerperformance for controlling the particular user input device 34.

The interactive ride system 10 may include various components that mayallow for interaction of the passengers 16 with the multi-passenger ridevehicle 12 and the ride environment 28. In some embodiments, the rideenvironment 28 may include separate control circuitry for facilitatinginteractive and dynamic ride elements. For example, the ride environment28 may include a display module 104 configured to provide a projectionor video display within the ride environment 28. For example, thedisplay module 104 may include one or more projectors, which may bedisposed about one or more locations along the ride course 30 or withinthe ride environment 28. The display or projection may be displayed onthe walls, ceiling, and/or floor of the ride environment 28, displayedon the ride course 30, display on one or more physical objects in theride environment, or a combination thereof. In certain embodiments, thedisplay module 104 may display projections of virtual obstacles (e.g.,potholes, speed bumps, cones, signs, blockades, barriers, vehicles,trees, rocks, characters, etc.), projections of virtual rewards (e.g.,money, coins, gold, gas cans, speed boosting devices, wands, toyweapons, toy ammo, armor, cars, characters, food, etc.), characters ofthe interactive ride system 10, and a background or theme for theinteractive ride system 10. In some embodiments, the display module 104may display projections of virtual obstacles, projections of virtualrewards, characters of the interactive ride system 10, and/or abackground or theme for the interactive ride system on one or more headmounted displays (HMDs) on board the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12(e.g., HMDs worn by the passengers 16). Further, the ride environment 28may include a sound module 106, such as one or more speakers configuredto provide various audio effects. Additionally, the ride environment 28may include a physical effects module 108 for controlling one or morephysical effects, such as special effects and/or physical objects. Forexample, the special effects may include smoke, water, snow, fire, wind,ice, temperature effects, smells, etc. Further, the physical effectsmodule 108 may be configured to add physical objects to the rideenvironment 28, remove physical objects from the ride environment 28,and/or move physical objects in the ride environment 28. The physicalobjects may include physical reward objects and physical obstacles, aswell as other objects to provide visual interest for the rideenvironment 28.

One or more disclosed features of the ride environment 28 mayadditionally or alternatively be implemented in the multi-passenger ridevehicle 12. For example, speakers of the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12may be controlled by the vehicle controller 70. Additionally, themulti-passenger ride vehicle 12 may include a display module 110 thatmay be controlled by the vehicle controller 70. The display module 110may include one or more heads-up displays on a windshield of themulti-passenger ride vehicle 12, one or more liquid-crystal display(LCD) screens or touch-screen displays (e.g., disposed on the steeringwheel 40), one or more projectors, one or more head mounted displays(HMDs), or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the displaymodule 110 may include a heads-up display, a LCD screen, a touch-screendisplay, a projector, a head mounted display (HMD), or a combinationthereof, for each passenger 16. The one or more projectors may bedisposed in, disposed on, and/or coupled to the multi-passenger ridevehicle 12. Further, the one or more projectors of the display module110 may be configured to display projections on the walls, ceiling,and/or floor of the ride environment 28, on the ride course 30, on oneor more physical objects in the ride environment 28, on anothermulti-passenger ride vehicle 12, or a combination thereof. Additionally,the one or more projectors, heads-up displays, LCD screens, touch-screendisplays, and/or HMDs may be configured to cause display of virtualrewards and/or virtual obstacles, such as those described above.

Based on feedback from the vehicle controller 70 and/or the systemcontroller 72, the display module 110 of the multi-passenger ridevehicle 12 may also display ride information. In some embodiments, thedisplay module 110 may display indicators that may indicate which userinput devices 34 are activated. For example, ride information mayinclude an individual score for a passenger 16, which may be based onthe passenger's performance in obtaining rewards, avoiding obstacles,steering the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 (e.g., relative to apredetermined “ideal” path), engaging with other multi-passenger ridevehicles 12, or a combination thereof. Further, the ride information mayinclude a team score for all passengers 16 in the multi-passenger ridevehicle 12, which may be based on each passenger's performance inobtaining rewards, avoiding obstacles, steering the multi-passenger ridevehicle 12 (e.g., relative to a predetermined “ideal” path), engagingwith other multi-passenger ride vehicles 12, or a combination thereof.Further, the ride information may include a representation of the ridecourse 30 (e.g., a 2D dynamic graphical representation of the ridecourse 30 and vehicle position in the ride course 30, as well as anyavailable interactive obstacles and/or rewards), and so forth.

As noted above, the ride environment 28 may include physical obstacles,physical rewards, virtual obstacles, and virtual rewards, and thepassengers 16 may control one or more user input devices 34 to obtainthe rewards and avoid the obstacles in the ride environment 28. Forexample, FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of the interactive ride system10 including a physical reward 130, a physical obstacle 132, a virtualreward 134, and a virtual obstacle 136. It should be noted that theinteractive ride system 10 may include any suitable number of physicalrewards 130, physical obstacles 132, virtual rewards 134, and/or virtualobstacles 136. Additionally, it should be noted that the physicalrewards 130, the physical obstacles 132, the virtual rewards 134, and/orthe virtual obstacles 136 may be disposed about any suitable location ofthe ride environment 28, such as on the ride course 30, on a wall orbarrier of the ride environment 28, and/or on one or more physicalobjects 138 in the ride environment 28. The physical rewards 130 and thevirtual rewards 134 may include money, coins, gold, gas cans, speedboosting devices, wands, toy weapons, toy ammo, armor, cars, characters,food, etc. The physical obstacle 132 and the virtual obstacles 136 mayinclude potholes, speed bumps, cones, signs, blockades, barriers,vehicles, trees, rocks, characters, etc. It should be appreciated thatthe physical rewards 130 and the physical obstacles 132 may be propsrepresentative of the particular reward or obstacle. In certainembodiments, the physical rewards 130 and the physical obstacles 132 maybe provided by and/or moved by the physical effects module 108, whichmay be controlled by the system controller 72. In some embodiments, thevirtual rewards 134 and the virtual obstacles 136 may be displayed bythe display module 104 of the ride environment 28. Further, as will bedescribed in more detail below, in some embodiments, the virtual rewards134 and the virtual obstacles 136 may be displayed by the display module110 of the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12.

In some embodiments, the passengers 16 may collect or obtain thephysical rewards 130 and the virtual rewards 134 by steering themulti-passenger ride vehicle 12 toward the physical rewards 130 and thevirtual rewards 134 using one or more user input devices 34, such as thesteering wheel 36 and/or the joystick 44. For example, the vehiclecontroller 70 may determine that the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 (orthe one or more passengers 16 controlling the steering) has obtained thereward when the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 is in within apredetermined distance of, contacts, or passes over the physical reward130 or the virtual reward 134. Accordingly, in some embodiments, thevehicle controller 70 may determine the distance between themulti-passenger ride vehicle 12 and a reward, which will be described inmore detail below, compare the distance to a reward distance threshold(e.g., stored in the memory 76), and may determine whether the reward isobtained based on the comparison. In particular, the vehicle controller70 may determine that the reward is obtained in response to adetermination that the distance between the multi-passenger ride vehicle12 and the reward is less than the reward distance threshold.Conversely, the vehicle controller 70 may determine that the reward isnot obtained in response to a determination that the multi-passengerride vehicle 12 passed the reward on the ride course 30 and the distancebetween the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 and the reward was greaterthan the reward distance threshold.

Further, in some embodiments, the passengers 16 may avoid the physicalobstacles 132 and the virtual obstacles 136 by steering themulti-passenger ride vehicle 12 away from the physical obstacles 132 andthe virtual obstacles 136 using one or more user input devices 34, suchas the steering wheel 36 and/or the joystick 44. For example, thevehicle controller 70 may determine that the multi-passenger ridevehicle 12 (or the one or more passengers 16 controlling the steering)has avoided the physical obstacle 132 or the virtual obstacle 136 if themulti-passenger ride vehicle 12 passed the physical obstacle 132 or thevirtual obstacle 136 on the ride course 30 and did not come within apredetermined distance of, did not contact, or did not pass over thephysical obstacle 132 or the virtual obstacle 136. For example, thevehicle controller 70 may determine a distance between themulti-passenger ride vehicle 12 and an obstacle and may monitor thedistance as the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 approaches and passesthe obstacle on the ride course 30. In some embodiments, the vehiclecontroller 12 may determine that an obstacle is avoided in response to adetermination that the distance between the multi-passenger ride vehicle12 and the obstacle as the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 approachedand passed the obstacle was greater than an obstacle distance threshold,which may be stored in the memory 102. Further, the vehicle controller70 may determine that an obstacle was not avoided in response to adetermination that the distance between the multi-passenger ride vehicle12 and an obstacle was less than the obstacle distance threshold.

Additionally, in certain embodiments, the vehicle controller 12 maycompare the distance between the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 and anobstacle to a second obstacle distance threshold, which may be stored inthe memory 102, to determine when the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 isapproaching the obstacle and when the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12has passed the obstacle. For example, the vehicle controller 12 maydetermine that the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 is approaching theobstacle when the distance is less than the second obstacle distancethreshold and may determine that the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 haspassed the obstacle when the distance is greater than the secondobstacle distance threshold. In this manner, the vehicle controller 70may only identify avoided obstacles that the multi-passenger ridevehicle 12 encountered.

To determine the position of the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12relative to the physical rewards 130, physical obstacles 132, virtualrewards 134, and virtual obstacles 136, the vehicle controller 70 mayuse feedback from one or more sensors 98 of the multi-passenger ridevehicle 12 and/or feedback from one or more sensors 100 of the rideenvironment 28. For example, in some embodiments, the sensors 98 of themulti-passenger ride vehicle 12 may include one or more cameras 140. Theone or more cameras 140 may be mounted to, disposed in, or integral withthe multi-passenger ride vehicle 12, and may be disposed about anylocation of the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12. Accordingly, thevehicle controller 70 may process signals from the one or more cameras140 to detect when awards are obtained and when obstacles are avoided.

Further, in some embodiments, the sensors 98 of the multi-passenger ridevehicle 12 may interact with the sensors 100 of the ride environment 28,which may be disposed proximate to, in, or on the physical rewards 130,physical obstacles 132, virtual rewards 134, and/or virtual obstacles136. For example, the one or more sensors 100 may include one or moreemitters 142, and the sensors 100 may include one or more detectors 144.The one or more detectors 144 may be disposed in or on themulti-passenger ride vehicle 12 and may detect light from the one ormore emitters 142 when the one or more emitters 142 are within apredetermined distance of and/or in line with the one or more detectors144. In the illustrated embodiment, one emitter 142 is disposed in or onthe physical object 138 and is proximate to the virtual reward 134.However, the one or more emitters 142 may additionally or alternativelybe disposed in, on, or proximate to the physical rewards 130, thephysical obstacles 132, and/or the virtual obstacles 136. Further, itshould be noted that in some embodiments, the sensors 98 mayadditionally or alternatively include the emitters 142, and the sensors100 may include the detectors 144.

Additionally, in some embodiments, the one or more sensors 100 mayadditionally or alternatively include one or more radio-frequencyidentification (RFID) tags 146, and the sensors 98 may include one ormore RFID readers 148. The RFID readers 148 may be mounted to, disposedin, or integral with the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 and may detectsignals from the one or more RFID tags 146 when the multi-passenger ridevehicle 12 is within a predetermined distance of the one or more RFIDtags 146. As illustrated, one RFID tag 146 may be disposed in thephysical reward 142. However, the one or more RFID tags 146 mayadditionally or alternatively be disposed additionally or alternativelybe disposed in, on, or proximate to the virtual rewards 134, thephysical obstacles 132, and/or the virtual obstacles 136. Further, itshould be noted that in some embodiments, the sensors 98 mayadditionally or alternatively include the RFID tags 146 and the sensors100 may additionally or alternatively include the RFID readers 148.

In some embodiments, the RFID tags 146 may transmit a signal thatincludes identification information for the object (e.g., physicalreward 130, physical obstacle 132, virtual reward 134, or virtualobstacle 136) with which the respective RFID tag 146 is associated(e.g., disposed in, disposed on, or proximate to). For example, thesignal may include information identifying the type of the object asreward or obstacle. In some embodiments, the signal may also includeinformation identifying whether the object is physical or virtual.Further, in some embodiments, the signal may include informationassociated with a level of difficulty in obtaining or avoiding theparticular object, a score for obtaining or avoiding the particularobject, a status of the particular object (e.g., active/points awardedfor obtaining or avoiding or inactive/points not awarded for obtainingor avoiding), and so forth. Accordingly, the RFID reader 148 may receivethe information from the RFID tag 146, decode the information if theinformation is encoded, and provide the information to the vehiclecontroller 70.

The vehicle controller 70 may receive signals from the sensors 98 (e.g.,the emitters 142, the detectors 144, the RFID tags 146, and/or the RFIDreaders 148), signals from the sensors 100 (e.g., the emitters 142, thedetectors 144, the RFID tags 146, and/or the RFID readers 148), signalsfrom the system controller 72, or a combination thereof. The vehiclecontroller 70 may use the received signals to determine the proximity ofthe multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 relative to one or more physicalrewards 130, physical obstacles 132, virtual rewards 134, and/or virtualobstacles 136. Further, the vehicle controller 70 may determine whetherrewards are obtained and whether obstacles are avoided based at least inpart on the proximity of the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 relative toone or more physical rewards 130, physical obstacles 132, virtualrewards 134, and/or virtual obstacles 136. Additionally, in embodimentsin which the RFID tags 146 include information about the particularobject that the respective RFID tag 146 is associated with, the vehiclecontroller 70 may use the information from the RFID tags 146 in thedetermination of whether rewards are obtained and obstacles are avoided.

In some embodiments, the passengers 16 of the multi-passenger ridevehicle 12 may obtain the reward and avoid the obstacles by steering themulti-passenger ride vehicle 12 toward the rewards and away from theobstacles, respectively, using one or more user input devices 34, and byinteracting with one or more different user input devices 34 to provideconfirmation to the vehicle controller 70 that the reward or obstaclewas identified by one or more passengers 16. For example, the buttons 42of the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 may include a reward button 156and an obstacle button 158. A passenger 16 may depress or actuate thereward button 156 when the passenger 16 identifies a reward in the rideenvironment 28, and the reward button 156 may provide reward feedback tothe vehicle controller 70 in response to depression of the rewardbutton. Similarly, a passenger 16 may depress or actuate the obstaclebutton when the passenger 16 identifies an obstacle in the rideenvironment 28, and the obstacle button 158 may be configured to provideobstacle feedback to the vehicle controller 70 in response to depressionof the obstacle button 158. The reward button 156 and the obstaclebutton 158 may be disposed on the steering wheel 36 or any othersuitable location of the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12. Further, anysuitable user input device 34 may be used to receive a user inputregarding identified awards or obstacles, such as, for example, aswitch, a lever, a portion of a touch-screen display, and so forth.

In certain embodiments, the vehicle controller 70 may determine that themulti-passenger ride vehicle 12 and/or the passengers 16 controlling thesteering and interacting with the reward button 156 have obtained areward in response to a determination that the multi-passenger ridevehicle 12 is within a predetermined distance of the reward and adetermination that the reward button 156 was pressed (e.g., when themulti-passenger ride vehicle 12 was within the predetermined distance ofthe award). In some embodiments, the vehicle controller 70 may determinethat the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 and/or the passengers 16controlling the steering and interacting with the obstacle button 158have avoided an obstacle in response to a determination that themulti-passenger ride vehicle 12 was at least a predetermined distanceaway from an obstacle and a determination that the obstacle button 158was pressed (e.g., when the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 was apredetermined distance away from the obstacle). Providing the rewardbutton 156 and the obstacle button 158 may provide a dynamic interactiveexperience for at least two passengers 16. For example, a firstpassenger 16 may control the steering (e.g., via the steering wheel 36or the joystick 44), a second passenger 16 may control the reward button156, and third passenger 16 may control the obstacle button 158.

Additionally, the passengers 16 may interact with one or more user inputdevices 34 to cause display of the virtual reward 134 and/or the virtualobstacles 136. In some embodiments, the vehicle controller 70 may causethe display module 110 of the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 to displaythe virtual reward 134 and/or the virtual obstacle 136 based on feedbackfrom one or more user input devices 34. For example, the vehiclecontroller 70 may cause the display module 110 to display the virtualreward 134 in response to feedback from the reward button 156 and todisplay the virtual obstacle 136 in response to feedback from theobstacle button 158. The reward button 156 and the obstacle button 158may provide a dynamic interactive experience for at least two passengers16. For example, one passenger 16 may control display of the virtualreward 134 and/or the virtual obstacle 136 via the reward button 156and/or the obstacle button 158, respectively, and other passengers 16may control other user input devices 34 to obtain the virtual reward 134and/or the avoid the virtual obstacle 136. It should be appreciated thatany suitable user input device 34 or user input devices 34 may be usedto control the display of the virtual reward 134 and/or the virtualobstacle 134, such as a second reward button, a second obstacle button,levers, switches, areas of a touch-screen display, and so forth.

In some embodiments, the display module 110 of the multi-passenger ridevehicle 12 may include one or more projectors 164 to display the virtualreward 134 and the virtual obstacle 136. The one or more projectors 164may be mounted on, disposed in, or integral with the multi-passengerride vehicle 12. In some embodiments, the one or more projectors 164 maybe disposed in the ride environment 28 and operatively coupled to thevehicle controller 70. In certain embodiments, the multi-passenger ridevehicle 12 may include at least one projector 164 for each passenger 16,which may be proximal to the respective passenger seat 14. For example,in one embodiment, the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 may include afirst projector 164 for each passenger 16 that is configured to displayvirtual rewards 134 and a second projector 164 for each passenger 16that is configured to display virtual obstacles 136. In this manner,each passenger 16 may independently cause display of a virtual reward134, a virtual obstacle 136, or both. Accordingly, the vehiclecontroller 12 may select a projector 164 from the one or more projectors164 and cause the selected projector 164 to display a virtual reward 134or a virtual obstacle 136 based on feedback from a user input device 34(e.g., a reward button 156, an obstacle button 158, etc.) when apassenger 16 actuates the user input device 34 and based on informationfrom the memory 102 of the respective user input device 34, such as thetype of the user input device 34 (e.g., a reward button 156 or anobstacle button 158), the type of feedback from the user input device 34(e.g., reward feedback or obstacle feedback), the passenger seat 14associated with the user input device 34, the passenger 16 associatedwith the user input device, or a combination thereof.

In certain embodiments, the vehicle controller 70 may be configured todeactivate or turn off the projectors 164 to cease display of thevirtual reward 134 or virtual obstacle 136 after a predetermined timeand/or in response to feedback from the user input device 34 (e.g., thereward button 156 or the obstacle button 158). Further, the vehiclecontroller 70 may periodically or continuously adjust a position and/ororientation of the projectors 164, such that the position of the virtualreward 134 and the virtual obstacle 136 relative to the multi-passengerride vehicle 12 changes over time, which may increase interest anddifficulty in obtaining the virtual reward 134 and avoiding the virtualobstacle 136. For example, the position and/or orientation of aprojector 164 may be adjusted after each depression of the reward button156, each depression of the obstacle button 158, each time the virtualreward 134 is obtained, or each time the virtual obstacle 136 isavoided. Further, in some embodiments, the vehicle controller 70 may beconfigured to adjust the position and/or orientation of a projector 164based on feedback from a user input device 34. For example, a passenger16 may control a joystick 44 to control adjust the position and/ororientation of the projector 164.

In some embodiments, the display module 110 may include one or moreheads-up displays 166, which may be displayed on one or more windshields168 of the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12. For example, the vehiclecontroller 70 may cause one or more of the head-up displays 166 todisplay a virtual reward 134 or a virtual obstacle 136 based on feedbackfrom one or more user input devices 34. In certain embodiments, themulti-passenger ride vehicle 12 may include one heads-up display 166 foreach passenger 16, which may be proximal to the respective passengerseat 14. Accordingly, the vehicle controller 12 may select a heads-updisplay 166 from the one or more heads-up displays 166 and cause theselected heads-up display 166 to display a virtual reward 134 or avirtual obstacle 136 based on feedback from a user input device 34(e.g., a reward button 156, an obstacle button 158, etc.) when apassenger 16 actuates the user input device 34 and based on informationfrom the memory 102 of the respective user input device 34, such as thetype of the user input device 34 (e.g., a reward button 156 or anobstacle button 158), the type of feedback from the user input device 34(e.g., reward feedback or obstacle feedback), the passenger seat 14associated with the user input device 34, the passenger 16 associatedwith the user input device, or a combination thereof.

Further, in some embodiments, the vehicle controller 70 may cause thedisplay module 104 of the ride environment 28 to display the virtualreward 134 or the virtual obstacle 136 based on feedback from one ormore user input devices 34, such as the reward button 156 or theobstacle button 158). For example, the vehicle controller 70 may sendinstructions to the system controller 72, which may cause the displaymodule 104 (e.g., one or more projectors of the display module 104) todisplay the virtual reward 134 or the virtual obstacle 136. In someembodiments, the display module 104 may include a plurality ofprojectors disposed in a plurality of locations about the rideenvironment 28 and/or the ride course 30, and the system controller 72and/or the vehicle controller 70 may select a projector from theplurality of projectors of the display module 104 to display the virtualreward 134 and/or the virtual obstacle 136 based on feedback from one ormore user input devices 34. In certain embodiment, the system controller70 and/or the vehicle controller 70 may select a projector from theplurality of projectors that is disposed proximate to (e.g., within apredetermine distance of, closest to) the multi-passenger ride vehicle12 that generated the feedback to display the virtual reward 134 or thevirtual obstacle 136. In some embodiments, the system controller 70and/or the vehicle controller 70 may select a projector from theplurality of projectors that is disposed proximate to (e.g., within apredetermine distance of, closest to) another multi-passenger ridevehicle 12 that did not generate the feedback to display the virtualreward 134 or the virtual obstacle 136. For example, a passenger 16 in afirst multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 may press the obstacle button 158to cause display of a virtual obstacle 136, and the system controller 72and/or the vehicle controller 70 may cause a projector of the pluralityof projectors that is proximate to a second multi-passenger ride vehicle12 (e.g., competing with the first multi-passenger ride vehicle 12) todisplay the virtual obstacle 136 (e.g., in the path of the secondmulti-passenger ride vehicle 12).

As described in detail above, the vehicle controller 70 may determinethat a reward is obtained when the multi-passenger ride vehicle iswithin a predetermined distance of the reward. When the vehiclecontroller 70 determines that a reward is obtained, the vehiclecontroller 70 may award one or more points to the multi-passenger ridevehicle 12, which may be added to a team score for all passengers 16 inthe multi-passenger ride vehicle 12. In some embodiments, the vehiclecontroller 70 may award one or more points to the passengers 16 whocontrolled various input devices 34, such as the steering wheel 40, thejoystick 44, and/or the reward button 156, which were used to obtain thereward. Additionally, in embodiments in which a passenger 16 causeddisplay of a virtual reward 134 that was obtained by the multi-passengerride vehicle 12, the vehicle controller 12 may award one or more pointsto the passenger 16 who caused display of the virtual reward 134 and theone or more passengers 16 who controlled various user input devices 34to obtain the virtual reward 134. For example, the one or more pointsawarded to the passengers 16 may be added to an individual score for therespective passenger 16. In some embodiments, the number of pointsawarded may be based on a level of difficulty for obtaining the reward,which may be determined by the vehicle controller 70.

Further, in some embodiments, the vehicle controller 70 may increase oneor more performance characteristics of the multi-passenger ride vehicle12, “unlock” one or more features of the multi-passenger ride vehicle12, “unlock” one or more features of the interactive ride system 10,activate or deactivate one or more user input devices 34 (e.g.,driving-related user input devices 34) of the multi-passenger ridevehicle 12, or a combination thereof, when a reward is obtained. Forexample, the vehicle controller 70 may increase a maximum speed of themulti-passenger ride vehicle 12, decrease a turning radius of themulti-passenger ride vehicle 12, provide temporary, virtual “armor” forthe multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 to protect against obstacles andactions from other multi-passenger ride vehicles 12, allow themulti-passenger ride vehicle 12 to access new sections of the ridecourse 30, and so forth. In one embodiment, the vehicle controller 70may activate a driving-related input device 34 (e.g., the steering wheel36, the gas pedal 38, the brake pedal 40 and/or the joystick 44) for apassenger 16 if the passenger 16 actuated a user input device 34 (e.g.,the reward button 156) that was used to obtain a reward.

Additionally, as noted above, the vehicle controller 70 may determinethat an obstacle is avoided in response to a determination that themulti-passenger ride vehicle 12 passed an obstacle on the ride course 30and was a predetermined distance away from the obstacle. When thevehicle controller 70 determines that an obstacle was avoided, thevehicle controller 70 may award one or more points to themulti-passenger ride vehicle 12, which may be added to a team score forall passengers 16 in the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12. In someembodiments, the vehicle controller 70 may award one or more points tothe passengers 16 who controlled various input devices 34, such as thesteering wheel 40, the joystick 44, and/or the obstacle button 158,which were used to avoid the obstacle. Additionally, in embodiments inwhich a passenger 16 caused display of a virtual obstacle 136 that wasavoided by the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12, the vehicle controller12 may award one or more points to the passenger 16 who caused displayof the virtual obstacle 136 and the one or more passengers 16 whocontrolled various user input devices 34 to avoid the virtual obstacle136. As noted above, the one or more points awarded to the passengers 16may be added to an individual score for the respective passenger 16.Further, the number of points awarded may be based on a level ofdifficulty for avoiding the obstacle, which may be determined by thevehicle controller 70. Additionally, similar to obtained rewards, thevehicle controller 70 may increase one or more performancecharacteristics of the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 and/or mayactivate or deactivate one or more user input devices 34 (e.g.,driving-related user input devices 34) of the multi-passenger ridevehicle 12 when an obstacle is avoided. In one embodiment, the vehiclecontroller 70 may activate a driving-related input device 34 (e.g., thesteering wheel 36, the gas pedal 38, the brake pedal 40 and/or thejoystick 44) for a passenger 16 if the passenger 16 actuated a userinput device 34 (e.g., the obstacle button 158) that was used to avoidan obstacle.

In certain embodiments, when the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 doesnot avoid an obstacle, the vehicle controller 70 may subtract pointsfrom the team score and/or from individual scores of one or morepassengers 16. Additionally, in some embodiments, when themulti-passenger ride vehicle 12 does not avoid an obstacle, the vehiclecontroller 70 may decrease one or more performance characteristics ofthe multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 and/or may activate or deactivateone or more user input devices 34 (e.g., driving-related user inputdevices 34) of the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12. For example, thevehicle controller 70 may decrease a maximum speed of themulti-passenger ride vehicle 12, cause the multi-passenger ride vehicle12 to spin, cause the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 to react as if ithit the obstacle, and so forth. Further, for competing rides, thevehicle controller 70 may award one or more points to a first passenger16 that caused display of the virtual obstacle 136 if one or more otherpassengers 16, who may be in the same multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 ora different multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 as the first passenger 16,do not avoid the virtual obstacle 238. In one embodiment, the vehiclecontroller 70 may deactivate a driving-related input device 34 (e.g.,the steering wheel 36, the gas pedal 38, the brake pedal 40 and/or thejoystick 44) for a passenger 16 if the passenger 16 actuated a userinput device 34 (e.g., the obstacle button 158) to display a virtualobstacle 136 and failed to avoid the virtual obstacle 136. In someembodiments, the vehicle controller 70 may activate a driving-relatedinput device 34 (e.g., the steering wheel 36, the gas pedal 38, thebrake pedal 40 and/or the joystick 44) for a passenger 16 if thepassenger 16 actuated a user input device 34 (e.g., the obstacle button158) to display a virtual obstacle 136 and other passengers 16 failed toavoid the virtual obstacle 136.

As noted above, the interactive ride system 10 may include two or moremulti-passenger ride vehicles 12. In particular, the interactive ridesystem 10 may include two or more multi-passenger ride vehicles 12 onthe ride course 30 at the same time to provide competing rides or racesbetween the two or more multi-passenger ride vehicles 12. For example,as illustrated in FIG. 4, the interactive ride system 10 may include afirst multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 a and a second multi-passengerride vehicle 12 b configured to race one another along the ride course30. In particular, FIG. 4 illustrates possible positions of the firstand second multi-passenger ride vehicles 12 a and 12 b along the ridecourse 30 during a possible race. In some embodiments, the first andsecond multi-passenger ride vehicles 12 a and 12 b may be dispatched atthe same time from the same location on the ride course 30, which mayprovide a realistic race experience. In certain embodiments, the firstand second multi-passenger ride vehicles 12 a and 12 b may begin theride at the same time from different locations on the ride course 30 ormay begin the ride at different times from the same location ordifferent locations along the ride course 30. While the illustratedembodiment includes two multi-passenger ride vehicles 12, it should beappreciated that the interactive ride system 10 may include any numberof multi-passenger ride vehicles 12 along the ride course 30, such as 3,4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, or more. For example, in some embodiments, two ormore multi-passenger ride vehicles 12 may be dispatched at the same timefrom the same location at predetermined intervals to space out groups ofracing multi-passenger ride vehicles 12. In other embodiments, onemulti-passenger ride vehicle 12 may be dispatched at a time.

The ride course 30 may include one or more multi-lane sections 240 toenable two or more multi-passenger vehicles 12 to race side-by-side andto pass one another to change positions in the race. The ride course 30may also include one or more single-lane sections 242. Further, the ridecourse 30 may include one or more branches 244 that may branch off fromand rejoin a main path 246 of the ride course 30. As such, the one ormore branches 244 may bypass a section 248 of the main path 246. Thebranches 244 may be single-lane or multi-lane.

By providing the branches 244, the ride course 30 may include aplurality of unique paths that may be selected by the passengers 16using the user input devices 34. This may enable each multi-passengerride vehicle 12 to take a different path and may enable each passenger16 to take a different path each time the ride is taken. Further, thebranches 244 may include different rewards, obstacles, characters,and/or other ride elements from the bypassed sections 248. Accordingly,the user input devices 34 and the ride course 30 provide a unique,dynamic, and interactive experience for each passenger 16.

In some embodiments, the bypassed sections 248 may be single-lanesections 242. As such, the branches 244 may enable a multi-passengerride vehicle 12 to pass another multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 in asingle-lane section 242. For example, as illustrated, the firstmulti-passenger ride vehicle 12 a may be ahead of the secondmulti-passenger ride vehicle 12 b in a single-lane section 242 before abranch 244, and the passengers 16 in the second multi-passenger ridevehicle 12 b may steer the second multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 bthrough the branch 244 to pass the first multi-passenger ride vehicle 12a. Accordingly, the passengers 16 of a multi-passenger ride vehicle 12may choose to travel through a branch 244 to try to pass anothermulti-passenger ride vehicle 12. Further, the passengers 16 of amulti-passenger ride vehicle 12 may choose to travel through the branch244 to try to avoid obstacles 250 in the bypassed section 248 and/or totry to obtain rewards 252 in the branch 244. It should be appreciatedthat in some embodiments, the passengers 16 may not know the layout ofthe race course 30 or where rewards and obstacles are located, but mayattempt to select an “ideal” path. For example, compared to “non-ideal”paths, an “ideal” path may enable a multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 tohave the fastest race time, the highest number of obtained rewards, andthe lowest number of encountered obstacles (or the highest number ofavoided obstacles if passengers 16 are awarded points for avoidingobstacles).

Additionally, for competing rides or races, the passengers 16 of amulti-passenger ride vehicle 12 cause display of virtual obstacles 136proximate to another multi-passenger ride vehicle 12. For example, asdescribed in detail above, a passenger 16 in the first multi-passengerride vehicle 12 a may press the obstacle button 158, or any othersuitable user input device 34, to cause a projector 164 to display avirtual obstacle 136. Further, as noted above, the passenger 16, oranother passenger 16 in the first multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 a, maycontrol another user input device 34, such as the joystick 44, tocontrol movement of the projector 164 and, as a result, the location ofthe virtual obstacle 136. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 5, thefirst multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 a may include the projector 164and an electronically-controlled actuator 270 configured to rotateand/or adjust a position of the projector 164. For example, theelectronically-controlled actuator 270 may include a robotic arm. Insome embodiments, the projector 164 may be disposed in a housing 272,and the electronically-controlled actuator 270 may be coupled to andconfigured to rotate and/or adjust a position of the housing 272. Inother embodiments, the electronically-controlled actuator 270 may bedirectly coupled to the projector 164. The projector 164 and the housing272, if included, may be disposed in or on the first multi-passengerride vehicle 12 a or may be coupled to the first multi-passenger ridevehicle 12 a (e.g., via the electronically-controlled actuator 270).Further, as noted above, in some embodiments, the vehicle controller 70and/or the system controller 72 may cause a projector of the displaymodule 104 in the ride environment 28 to display virtual obstacles 136in the path of competing multi-passenger ride vehicles 12 based onfeedback from other multi-passenger ride vehicles 12.

To control movement of the projector 164, a passenger 16 (e.g.,passenger 16 a) may move the joystick 44, which may provide feedback tothe vehicle controller 70 based on the movement. The vehicle controller70 may control movement of the electronically-controlled actuator 270based on the feedback from the joystick 44 to control the movement ofthe projector 164. In this manner, the joystick 44 may provide a uniqueand interactive experience for the passenger 16 controlling the joystick44 by providing the passenger 16 with control over the placement of thevirtual obstacle 136. Further, in some embodiments, one passenger 16(e.g., passenger 16 a) may control the joystick 44 to control themovement of the projector 164 and another passenger (e.g., passenger 16b) may control the obstacle button 158 to control display of the virtualobstacle 136, which may provide a unique and interactive experience forat least two passengers. While the illustrated embodiment includes onemoveable projector 164, in other embodiments, the multi-passenger ridevehicle 12 may include a projector 164 and an electronically-controlledactuator 270 to move the respective projector 164 for two or morepassengers 16 or each passenger 16.

Additionally, as noted above, the virtual obstacle 136 may be displayedon a heads-up display 166 of a multi-passenger ride vehicle 12. Forexample, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the first and second multi-passengerride vehicles 12 a and 12 b may each include at least one windshield 168(e.g., first and second windshields 168 a and 168 b, respectively) withat least one heads-up display 166 (e.g., first and second heads-updisplays 166 a and 166 b, respectively). The first and second heads-updisplays 166 a and 166 b may display first and second graphicalrepresentations 280 a and 280 b, respectively, of the ride course 30. Inparticular, a first vehicle controller 70 a of the first multi-passengerride vehicle 12 a may cause the first heads-up display 166 a to displaythe first graphical representation 280 a based on feedback from thecameras 140, the sensors 98 of the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 a,the sensors 100 of the ride environment 28, and/or the system controller72. Similarly, a second vehicle controller 70 b of the secondmulti-passenger ride vehicle 12 b may cause the second heads-up display170 b to display the second graphical representation 280 b based onfeedback from the cameras 140, the sensors 98 of the multi-passengerride vehicle 12 b, the sensors 100 of the ride environment 28, and/orthe system controller 72.

As noted above, a passenger 16 may depress or actuate the obstaclebutton 158 to cause display of the virtual obstacle 136 on a heads-updisplay 166. In some embodiments, actuation of the obstacle button 158may cause display of the virtual obstacle 136 on a heads-up display 166of another multi-passenger ride vehicle 12. For example, a firstpassenger 16 a of the first multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 a mayactuate a first obstacle button 158 a, which may provide feedback to thefirst vehicle controller 70 a. The first vehicle controller 70 a maysend a signal to the second vehicle controller 70 b based on the inputfrom first obstacle button 158 a. In particular, the first vehiclecontroller 70 a may send a signal to the second vehicle controller 70 bvia the first and second communication modules 82 a and 82 b, and thesignal may include instructions that, when executed by the secondvehicle controller 70 b, cause display of the virtual obstacle 136 onthe second heads-up display 166 b.

As described in detail above, passengers 16 of the multi-passenger ridevehicle 12 may use one or more user input devices 34 to controloperation of the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12. For example, eachpassenger 16 may operate and/or actuate one or more user input devices34, such as the steering wheel 36, the gas pedal 38, the brake pedal 40,the buttons 42 (e.g., the reward button 136 and the obstacle button138), the joystick 44, or a combination thereof. Further, the user inputdevices 34 may generate feedback in response to actuation by a passenger16. The vehicle controller 70 may receive feedback from the user inputdevices 34 in response to actuation of the respective user input device34, and the vehicle controller 70 may use the feedback to control one ormore operations of the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12, such as movementof the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12, interaction with rewards,interaction with obstacles, interaction with other multi-passenger ridevehicles 12, or a combination thereof.

Additionally, the vehicle controller 70 may use the feedback from theuser input devices 34 to determine one or more performance metricsassociated with each multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 in the interactiveride system 10. For example, FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment of amethod 320 for determining one or more performance metrics for eachpassenger 16 in a multi-passenger ride vehicle 12. The method 320 may beperformed entirely or in part by the vehicle controller 70 as providedherein using control logic or programming. For example, the vehiclecontroller 70 may receive steering feedback for a passenger 16 of amulti-passenger ride vehicle 12 (block 322). The vehicle controller 70may receive the steering feedback from one or more steering user inputdevices 34 that were actuated by the passenger 16 and that generatefeedback that may be used by the vehicle controller 70 to control thesteering of the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12. For example, the one ormore steering user input devices 34 may include the steering wheel 36and/or the joystick 44. In some embodiments, the vehicle controller 70may receive the steering feedback from the one or more steering userinput devices 34 when the steering user input devices 34 are activated(e.g., feedback is used by the vehicle controller 70 to control thesteering of the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12). In certainembodiments, the vehicle controller 70 may receive the steering feedbackfrom the one or more steering user input devices 34 even when thesteering user input devices 34 are deactivated (e.g., feedback is notused by the vehicle controller 70 to control the steering of themulti-passenger ride vehicle 12). Indeed, as noted above, the vehiclecontroller 70 may receive feedback from deactivated user input devices34. That is, a passenger 16 may actuate a deactivated user input device34, and the vehicle controller 70 may receive feedback from thedeactivated user input device 34 based on the actuation and may not usethe feedback to control operation of the multi-passenger ride vehicle12.

The vehicle controller 70 may determine a steering score for thepassenger based on the steering feedback (block 324). For example, thevehicle controller 70 may determine the steering score by comparing avehicle path resulting from the passenger's steering to an “ideal” path,which may be stored in the memory 76, determined by the vehiclecontroller 70, or received from the system controller 72. The vehiclepath may include an actual path taken by the multi-passenger ridevehicle 12 as a result of the steering of the passenger 16, ahypothetical path based on steering feedback from deactivated steeringuser input devices 34 controlled by the passenger 16, or a combinationthereof. The “ideal” path may be a route that enables themulti-passenger ride vehicle 12 to complete the ride course 30 in thefastest time, to obtain the greatest number of rewards, to avoid themost obstacles, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, thevehicle controller 70 may evaluate and/or quantify the “jerkiness” or“smoothness” of turns to determine the steering score. Further, in someembodiments, the vehicle controller 70 may use collision information inthe determination of the steering score. For example, the vehiclecontroller 70 may assign a lower steering score or decrease the steeringscore if feedback from the steering user input devices 34 was overriddenby the vehicle controller 70 and/or the system controller 72 to avoid acollision or if feedback from deactivated steering user input devices 34would have resulted in a collision.

In some embodiments, the vehicle controller 70 may also receive steeringfeedback from one or more steering user input devices 34 controlled byother passengers 16 in the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 (block 326)and may compare the steering feedback from the passenger 16 to thesteering feedback from the other passengers 16 to determine the steeringscore (block 324). For example, the vehicle controller 70 may comparesteering feedback from the passenger 16 from one or more locations ofthe ride course 30 with steering feedback from the other passengers 16from the same one or more locations.

In certain embodiments, the vehicle controller 70 may receive speedfeedback for the passenger 16 of the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12(block 328). For example, the vehicle controller 70 may receive thespeed feedback from one or more speed user input devices 34 that wereactuated by the passenger 16 and that generate feedback that may be usedby the vehicle controller 70 to control the speed, acceleration, and/ordeceleration of the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12. That is, the speedfeedback may also include acceleration and deceleration feedback. Forexample, the one or more speed user input devices 34 may include the gaspedal 40 and/or the brake pedal 42. The vehicle controller 70 mayreceive the speed feedback from activated and/or deactivated speed userinput devices 34.

The vehicle controller 70 may determine a speed score for the passenger16 based on the speed feedback (block 330). For example, the vehiclecontroller 70 may determine the speed score by comparing an averagespeed resulting from the speed feedback to an “ideal” average speed,which may be stored in the memory 76, determined by the vehiclecontroller 70, or received from the system controller 72. The “ideal”average speed may enable the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 to completethe ride course 30 in the fastest time. In some embodiments, the vehiclecontroller 70 may compare the speed feedback from one or more locationsof the ride course 30 with “ideal” speeds for the same one or morelocations to determine the speed score. In certain embodiments, thevehicle controller 70 may use one or more metrics, such as averagespeed, maximum speed, minimum speed, standard deviation of speed, etc.,in the determination of the speed score.

In some embodiments, the vehicle controller 70 may also receive speedfeedback from one or more speed user input devices 34 controlled byother passengers 16 in the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 (block 332)and may compare the speed feedback from the passenger 16 to the speedfeedback from the other passengers 16 to determine the speed score(block 330). For example, the vehicle controller 70 may compare anaverage speed resulting from the speed feedback of the passenger 16 toaverage speeds resulting from the speed feedback of the otherpassengers. In some embodiments, the vehicle controller 70 may comparespeed feedback from the passenger 16 from one or more locations of theride course 30 with speed feedback from the other passengers 16 from thesame one or more locations.

Additionally, the vehicle controller 70 may receive reward feedback forthe passenger 16 of the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 (block 334). Thevehicle controller 70 may receive the reward feedback from one or morereward user input devices 34 that were actuated by the passenger 16 andthat generate feedback that may be used by the vehicle controller 70 toobtain rewards for the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12. For example, theone or more reward user input devices 34 may include the steering wheel36, the buttons 42 (e.g., the reward button 156), the joystick 44, or acombination thereof. The vehicle controller 70 may receive the rewardfeedback from activated and/or deactivated reward user input devices 34.Additionally, the vehicle controller 70 may receive reward feedback(e.g., data or information relating to the distance between themulti-passenger ride vehicle 12 and a reward) from the cameras 140, thesensors 98, the sensor 100, or a combination thereof.

Further, the vehicle controller 70 may determine a reward score for thepassenger 16 based on the reward feedback (block 336). For example, asdescribed in detail above, the vehicle controller 70 may award points(e.g., reward points) to the passenger 16 when the passenger 16 controlsa reward user input device 34 to obtain a reward. In some embodiments,the vehicle controller 70 may determine the reward score based on thenumber of award points for the passenger 16. In certain embodiments, thevehicle controller 70 may compare the number of reward points to a totalnumber of possible reward points for the ride course 30 to determine thereward score. Additionally, the vehicle controller 70 may determine thereward score based on a percentage of rewards obtained by the passenger16 from a total number of possible rewards for the ride course 30.

The vehicle controller 70 may also receive reward feedback from one ormore reward user input devices 34 controlled by other passengers 16 inthe multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 (block 338) and may compare thereward feedback from the passenger 16 to the reward feedback from theother passengers 16 to determine the reward score (block 336). Forexample, the vehicle controller 70 may compare the number of awardpoints for the passenger 16 to the number of award points of the otherpassengers 16. In some embodiments, the vehicle controller 70 maycompare the percentage of obtained rewards for the passenger 16 to thepercentage of obtained rewards for the other passengers 16.

Further, the vehicle controller 70 may receive obstacle feedback for thepassenger 16 of the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 (block 340). Thevehicle controller 70 may receive the obstacle feedback from one or moreobstacle user input devices 34 that were actuated by the passenger 16and that generate feedback that may be used by the vehicle controller 70to avoid and/or cause display of obstacles. For example, the one or moreobstacle user input devices 34 may include the steering wheel 36, thebuttons 42 (e.g., the obstacle button 158), the joystick 44, or acombination thereof. The vehicle controller 70 may receive the obstaclefeedback from activated and/or deactivated obstacle user input devices34. Additionally, the vehicle controller 70 may receive the obstaclefeedback (e.g., data or information relating to a distance between themulti-passenger ride vehicle 12 and an obstacle) from the cameras 140,the sensors 98, the sensors 100, or a combination thereof.

Further, the vehicle controller 70 may determine an obstacle score forthe passenger 16 based on the obstacle feedback (block 342). Forexample, as described in detail above, the vehicle controller 70 mayaward points (e.g., obstacle points) to the passenger 16 when thepassenger 16 controls an obstacle user input device 34 to avoid anobstacle and when the passenger 16 controls an obstacle user inputdevice 34 to display a virtual obstacle 136 that another passenger 16fails to avoid. In some embodiments, the vehicle controller 70 maydetermine the obstacle score based on the number of obstacle points forthe passenger 16. In certain embodiments, the vehicle controller 70 maycompare the number of obstacle points to a total number of possibleobstacle points for the ride course 30 to determine the obstacle score.Additionally, the vehicle controller 70 may determine the obstacle scorebased on a percentage of obstacles avoided by the passenger 16 from atotal number of possible obstacles for the ride course 30.

The vehicle controller 70 may also receive obstacle feedback from one ormore obstacle user input devices 34 controlled by other passengers 16 inthe multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 (block 344) and may compare theobstacle feedback from the passenger 16 to the obstacle feedback fromthe other passengers 16 to determine the obstacle score (block 342). Forexample, the vehicle controller 70 may compare the number of obstaclepoints for the passenger 16 to the number of obstacle points of theother passengers 16. In some embodiments, the vehicle controller 70 maycompare the percentage of avoided obstacles for the passenger 16 to thepercentage of avoided obstacles for the other passengers 16.

Additionally, the vehicle controller 70 may determine a composite scorefor the passenger 16 based on the steering score, the speed score, thereward score, and the obstacle score (block 346). For example, thevehicle controller 70 may add the steering score, the speed score, thereward score, and the obstacle score together to determine the compositescore. Further, the vehicle controller 70 may also cause display of thesteering score, the speed score, the reward score, the obstacle store,the composite score, or a combination thereof for the passenger 16(block 348). For example, the vehicle controller 70 may cause thedisplay module 110 of the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 to display thesteering score, the speed score, the reward score, the obstacle store,and/or the composite score on a display of the multi-passenger ridevehicle 12, such as the heads-up display 166, an LCD screen, and/or atouch-screen display. In some embodiments, the vehicle controller 70 maycause the display module 104 of the ride environment 28 to display thescores. In certain embodiments, the vehicle controller 70 may causedisplay of all of the scores for the passenger 16. In one embodiment,the vehicle controller 70 may only cause display of the composite score.In some embodiments, the vehicle controller 70 may periodically orcontinuously determine the steering score, the speed score, the rewardscore, the obstacle store, and/or the composite score throughout theduration of the ride. In such embodiments, the vehicle controller 70 maydisplay the steering score, the speed score, the reward score, theobstacle store, and/or the composite score during the ride and mayperiodically or continuously update the scores on the display throughoutthe ride. In one embodiment, the vehicle controller 70 may determine andcause display of the steering score, the speed score, the reward score,the obstacle store, and/or the composite score after the ride iscompleted.

FIG. 8 illustrates an embodiment of a method 370 for determining thewinner of a race or ride of the interactive ride system 10. The method370 may be performed entirely or in part by the vehicle controller 70 asprovided herein using control logic or programming. For example, thevehicle controller 70 may determine the composite score for eachpassenger 16 in each multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 of the race or ride(block 372). The vehicle controller 70 may determine the composite scoreusing any of the techniques described above in any combination. Thevehicle controller 70 may determine an individual winner in eachmulti-passenger ride vehicle 12 (block 374). For example, the passenger16 with the highest composite score in each multi-passenger ride vehicle12 may be the winner. Further, in embodiments in which the race or rideincludes more than one multi-passenger ride vehicle 12, the vehiclecontroller 12 may determine a team score for each multi-passenger ridevehicle 12 based on the composite scores of the passengers 12 withineach multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 (block 376) and the vehiclecontroller 12 may determine a team winner based on the team scores foreach multi-passenger ride vehicle (block 378). For example, themulti-passenger ride vehicle 12 with the highest team score may be thewinner. In some embodiments, the vehicle controller 70 may alsodetermine an individual winner for the ride, which may be the passenger16 with the highest composite score in the ride. Additionally, thevehicle controller 70 may be configured to provide an indication of theindividual winner and/or the team winner (block 380). For example, thevehicle controller 70 may cause the display module 110 and/or thedisplay module 104 to display an indication of the individual winnerand/or the team winner. The vehicle controller 70 may determine theindividual winner and the team winner after the ride is completed.However, in some embodiments, the vehicle controller 70 may also use thecomposite scores and the team scores periodically or continuously duringthe ride to determine which passengers 16 and which multi-passenger ridevehicle 12 are currently in the lead, and the vehicle controller 70 mayprovide indications of the leading passengers 16 and the leadingmulti-passenger ride vehicle 12 to provide added interest during theride.

FIG. 9 illustrates a method 400 for controlling the movement of amulti-passenger ride vehicle 12 based on feedback from at least one userinput device 34. The method 400 may be performed entirely or in part bythe vehicle controller 70 as provided herein using control logic orprogramming. For example, the vehicle controller 70 may receive firstfeedback from a first user input device 34 (block 402), which may becontrolled by a first passenger 16. Additionally, the vehicle controller70 may receive second feedback from a second user input device 34 (block404), which may be controlled by a second passenger 16. The firstfeedback and the second feedback may be the same type of feedback or maybe different types of feedback. Further, the first user input device 34may be the same type as the second user input device 34 or may be adifferent type than the second user input device 34. For example, in oneembodiment, the first and second user input devices 34 may both besteering wheels 36. In another embodiment, the first user input device34 may be a steering wheel 36 and the second user input device may be agas pedal 38. It should be appreciated that any combination of the userinput devices 34 described above may be used. Further, it should beappreciated that in some embodiments, the vehicle controller 70 mayreceive feedback from more than two user input devices 34, which may becontrolled by more than two passengers 16. Additionally, in someembodiments, the vehicle controller 70 may receive feedback from two ormore user input devices 34 that are controlled by the same passenger 16.In some embodiments, each passenger 16 may control two or more userinput devices 34, and each passenger 16 may control the same types ofuser input devices 34 as the other passengers 16 in the multi-passengerride vehicle 12. For example, in one embodiment, each passenger 16 ofthe multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 may control a steering wheel 36, agas pedal 38, a brake pedal 40, and one or more buttons 42, and thevehicle controller 70 may receive feedback from each user input device34 controlled by each passenger 16 in the multi-passenger ride vehicle12.

The vehicle controller 70 may select the first feedback, the secondfeedback, or both for controlling one or more operations of themulti-passenger ride vehicle 12 (block 406). As noted above, the one ormore operations of the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 may includemovement of the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12, speed of themulti-passenger ride vehicle 12, direction of the multi-passenger ridevehicle 12, orientation of the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12,interaction between the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 and rewards inthe ride environment 28, interaction between the multi-passenger ridevehicle 12 and obstacles in the ride environment 28, and/or interactionbetween the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 and other features and/orother multi-passenger ride vehicles 12 in the ride environment 28. Itshould be noted that in embodiments in which the vehicle controller 70receives feedback from more than two user input devices 34, the vehiclecontroller 70 may select feedback from one, two, or any number of theuser input devices 34. In some embodiments, the vehicle controller 70may select the first feedback, the second feedback, or both based on apredetermined schedule, which may be stored in the memory 76. In certainembodiments, the vehicle controller 70 may select the first feedback,the second feedback, or both based on the type of feedback of the firstand second feedback, the type of the first and second user input devices34, and/or the passengers 16 or passenger performance of the passengers16 controlling the first and second user input devices 34. In someembodiments, the vehicle controller 70 may select both the firstfeedback and the second feedback when the first and second feedback aredifferent types. For example, the vehicle controller 70 may select boththe first and second feedback to control movement of the multi-passengerride vehicle 12 and may use the first feedback (e.g., steering feedback)to control the direction of the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 and thesecond feedback (e.g., speed feedback) to control the speed of themulti-passenger ride vehicle 12. In other embodiments, the vehiclecontroller 70 may select both the first feedback and the second feedbackwhen the first and second feedback are the same type. For example, thevehicle controller 70 my combine the first and second feedback todetermine a combined feedback. The vehicle controller 70 may combine thefirst feedback and the second feedback by adding the first and secondfeedback, subtracting one from the other, averaging the first and secondfeedback, determining a weighted average of the first and secondfeedback, or using any other suitable processing techniques. In someembodiments, the vehicle controller 70 determine a score for the firstfeedback and the second feedback, as described above in FIG. 7, weightthe first feedback and the second feedback based on their respectivescores, and determine a weighted average for the first and secondfeedback based on the weighted first and second feedback. For example,the feedback with the higher score may be assigned a higher weight.

In certain embodiments, the vehicle controller 70 may select the firstfeedback or the second feedback based on the scores. For example, thevehicle controller 70 may select the first feedback when the score forthe first feedback is higher than the score for the second feedback andvice versa. In other embodiments, the vehicle controller 70 maydetermine a composite score or individual score for each passenger 16 inthe multi-passenger ride vehicle 12, as described in detail above inFIG. 7, and may select the first feedback or the second feedback basedon the individual scores for each passenger 16. For example, the vehiclecontroller 70 may select the first feedback when the individual scorefor the passenger 16 controlling the first user input device 34 isgreater than the individual score for the passenger 16 controlling thesecond user input device 34 and vice versa.

Additionally, in some embodiments, selecting the first feedback, thesecond feedback, or both for controlling one or more operations of themulti-passenger ride vehicle 12 (block 406) may include selecting firstfeedback, the second feedback, or both for controlling each operation ofthe one or more operations of the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12. Thatis, some types of feedback may not be associated with certain operationsand thus, it may be desirable to use different combinations of feedbackfor different operations. By way of example, the first user input device34 may be a steering wheel 36 that generates steering feedback, and thesecond user input device 34 may be the reward button 156 that generatesreward feedback. The vehicle controller 70 may select the steeringfeedback to control the movement (e.g., steering) of the multi-passengerride vehicle 12 and may select both the steering feedback and the rewardfeedback to control interaction with rewards.

Accordingly, the vehicle controller 70 may control the one or moreoperations of the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 based on the one ormore selections (block 408). In certain embodiments, the vehiclecontroller 70 may be configured to control the movement of themulti-passenger ride vehicle 12 based on a vehicle path (e.g., thevariable path 32) determined by the vehicle controller 70. Inparticular, the vehicle controller 70 may determine a vehicle path forthe multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 based on the selection (e.g., theselection for controlling the movement of the multi-passenger ridevehicle 12). That is, the vehicle controller 70 may select the firstfeedback, the second feedback, or both, as described in detail above,and may determine the vehicle path based on the selection. The vehiclecontroller 70 may determine a vehicle path 32 that includes variablespeed, variable direction (e.g., forward, backward, sideways,diagonally, etc.), variable orientation for the multi-passenger ridevehicle 12. For example, the vehicle controller 70 may cause themulti-passenger ride vehicle 12 to spin, pitch, roll, and/or yaw tochange the orientation of the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12. Thus, thevehicle controller 70 may use feedback associated with the speed of themulti-passenger ride vehicle 12, feedback associated with the directionof the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12, and/or feedback associated withthe orientation of the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12 to determine thevehicle path. In some embodiments, the vehicle controller 70 may notreceive or may not select steering feedback, direction feedback, andorientation feedback to determine the vehicle path and control movementof the multi-passenger ride vehicle 12. In such embodiments, the vehiclecontroller 70 may be configured to select one or more default settingsfor the speed, direction, and/or orientation, as appropriate, to use inthe determination of the vehicle path. The default settings may bestored in the memory 76 and in some embodiments, may be specific foreach ride course 30 and/or sections of each ride course 30.

While only certain features of the present embodiments have beenillustrated and described herein, many modifications and changes willoccur to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, to be understoodthat the appended claims are intended to cover all such modificationsand changes as fall within the true spirit of the present disclosure.Further, it should be understood that certain elements of the disclosedembodiments may be combined or exchanged with one another. For example,while the present embodiments include various techniques and methodsthat are described as performed by the vehicle controller 70, it shouldbe noted that any of the techniques and methods described above mayadditionally or alternatively be performed by the system controller 72.

1. A control system configured to control a multi-passenger ridevehicle, the control system comprising: a controller configured to:receive a first passenger feedback from a first passenger input device;receive a second passenger feedback from a second passenger inputdevice; select the first passenger feedback, the second passengerfeedback, or a combination thereof as a selection; determine a vehiclepath using the first passenger feedback, the second passenger feedback,or the combination thereof based on the selection; and control movementof the multi-passenger ride vehicle based on the vehicle path.
 2. Thecontrol system of claim 1, wherein the vehicle path comprises a speed ofthe multi-passenger ride vehicle, a direction of the multi-passengerride vehicle, an orientation of the multi-passenger ride vehicle, anacceleration of the multi-passenger ride vehicle, or any combinationthereof.
 3. The control system of claim 1, comprising the firstpassenger input device, wherein the first passenger input devicecomprises a steering wheel, a gas pedal, a brake pedal, a button, ajoystick, or any combination thereof.
 4. The control system of claim 1,wherein the controller is configured to control a position of an axle ofthe multi-passenger ride vehicle, a motor of the multi-passenger ridevehicle, a brake of the multi-passenger ride vehicle, or a combinationthereof to control the movement of the multi-passenger ride vehicle. 5.The control system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured toreceive sensor feedback relating to a ride environment or a dispositionof the multi-passenger ride vehicle, and wherein the controller isconfigured to determine the vehicle path based on the sensor feedback.6. The control system of claim 5, wherein the controller is configuredto compare the sensor feedback with the first passenger feedback, andwherein the controller is configured to override the first passengerfeedback in view of the comparison of the sensor feedback with the firstpassenger feedback.
 7. The control system of claim 5, wherein thecontroller is configured to compare the sensor feedback with the firstpassenger feedback and the second passenger feedback, and wherein thecontroller is configured to override the first passenger feedback andthe second passenger feedback in view of the comparison of the sensorfeedback with the first passenger feedback and the second passengerfeedback.
 8. The control system of claim 5, wherein the controller isconfigured to: determine an adjustment to the vehicle path based on thesensor feedback; and revise the vehicle path based on the adjustment tothe vehicle path prior to controlling the movement of themulti-passenger ride vehicle based on the vehicle path.
 9. The controlsystem of claim 5, wherein the sensor feedback comprises data relatingto boundaries of a ride course the multi-passenger ride vehicle operatesin, physical objects within the ride environment, other multi-passengerride vehicles in the ride course, or any combination thereof.
 10. Thecontrol system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured tocompare the first passenger feedback to corresponding data of apredetermined ideal vehicle path.
 11. A method of controlling amulti-passenger ride vehicle, comprising: receiving, via a controller,first passenger feedback from a first passenger input device of amulti-passenger ride vehicle; receiving, via the controller, secondpassenger feedback from a second passenger input device of themulti-passenger ride vehicle; determining, via the controller, a vehiclepath based on the first passenger feedback, the second passengerfeedback, or a combination thereof; and controlling, via the controller,movement of the multi-passenger ride vehicle based on the vehicle path.12. The method of claim 11, comprising: receiving, via the controller,sensor feedback related to a ride environment or a disposition of themulti-passenger ride vehicle; and determining, via the controller, thevehicle path based on the received sensor feedback.
 13. The method ofclaim 12, wherein determining the vehicle path based on the receivedsensor feedback comprises selecting, via the controller, between thereceived sensor feedback and the first passenger feedback, the secondpassenger feedback, or the combination thereof.
 14. The method of claim12, wherein determining the vehicle path based on the received sensorfeedback comprises adjusting, via the controller, the first passengerfeedback, the second passenger feedback, or the combination thereofbased on the sensor feedback.
 15. The method of claim 12, whereindetermining the vehicle path based on the received sensor feedbackcomprises: determining, via the controller, a first unadjusted vehiclepath based on the received first passenger feedback, the received secondpassenger feedback, or the combination thereof; and determining, via thecontroller, a second adjusted vehicle path based on the received sensorfeedback, wherein controlling the movement of the multi-passenger ridevehicle based on the vehicle path comprises controlling, via thecontroller, the movement of the multi-passenger ride vehicle based onthe determined second adjusted vehicle path.
 16. A system, comprising: amulti-passenger ride vehicle configured to accommodate a plurality ofpassengers; a first passenger input device positioned proximate a firstpassenger seat of the multi-passenger ride vehicle, wherein the firstpassenger input device is configured to receive a first input from afirst passenger of the plurality of passengers, and configured togenerate a first feedback in response to the first input; a secondpassenger input device positioned proximate a second passenger seat ofthe multi-passenger ride vehicle, wherein the second passenger inputdevice is configured to receive a second input from a second passengerof the plurality of passengers, and configured to generate a secondfeedback in response to the second input from the second passenger; asensor configured to receive sensor feedback relating to a rideenvironment, a disposition of the multi-passenger ride vehicle, or acombination thereof; and a controller configured to receive the firstfeedback, the second feedback, and the sensor feedback, and to controlone or more operations of the multi-passenger ride vehicle based on thefirst received feedback, the second received feedback, and the receivedsensor feedback.
 17. The system of claim 16, wherein the controller isconfigured to control a first operation of the one or more operationsbased on the received first feedback, and to control a second operationof the one or more operations based on the received second feedback. 18.The system of claim 16, wherein the controller is configured to comparethe received first feedback, the received second feedback, or acombination thereof with a corresponding control threshold value. 19.The system of claim 18, wherein the controller is configured to controlthe one or more operations by overriding the first feedback, the secondfeedback, or a combination thereof, based on the comparison of thereceived first feedback, the received second feedback, or thecombination thereof with the corresponding control threshold value. 20.The system of claim 18, wherein the controller is configured to controlthe one or more operations by determining a baseline operation in viewof the received first feedback and the received second feedback, bydetermining an adjusted operation of the baseline operation in view ofthe received sensor feedback, and by executing the adjusted operation ofthe baseline operation.